Orissa CM assures bauxite for Vedanta refinery: Anil Agarwal

Global mining major Vedanta group today said that the Orissa government has assured it of raw material supply to run its aluminia refinery in the state.

"He (Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik) has promised and said we are sitting on world's fourth-largest bauxite reserve. Bauxite should not be a problem," Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal said after meeting the CM last night.

Agarwal told Patnaik that Vedanta's refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi had started production and the company had been importing bauxite (the raw material) from other places to run the plant.

"We are waiting for bauxite from the mother state and importing it from outside," he said seeking state government's support to start exploration of bauxite at Niyamgiri hills.

During his discussion with Patnaik, the company chief also pointed out that Vedanta had already invested Rs 39,000 crore in the state and provided employment to about 2 lakh people, both direct and indirect.

Though the Supreme Court had already cleared hurdles before mining activities at Niyamgiri, the joint venture company, comprising the state-owned Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) and Vedanta's subsidiary Sterlite, failed to start exploration due to opposition from the tribal community.

To a question, Agarwal claimed that Vedanta had never violated environmental norms. "This is a world-class refinery. Union environment ministry and others know that this is the only refinery with zero discharge and zero waste," Agarwal said.

This apart, Agarwal claimed that the Supreme Court had looked at "each and every aspect" of the refinery. "The court put all committees to verify it and finally gave all clearances to start the refinery," he pointed out.

Agarwal said the company would also look into interest of the locals. "We will spend 5 per cent of our total profit, or minimum of Rs 10 crore per annum for the development of the people in Kalahandi," he said.

Meanwhile, Vedanta had also set up a 5,00,000 tonnes capacity smelter at Orissa's Jharsuguda district, which has also started production. This apart, the company was also expanding capacity of the smelter by 1.5 MTPA besides installing a 3,800 Mw power plant.

"The first phase of the power plant's 600 Mw would be generated during this summer," Agarwal said.